But during his absence in Hong Kong early this month, Mill Li was arrested by security agents at the gateway to the diplomatic compound in which Bellefroid resides.

Mill Li, who had been living in Bellefroid's apartment, had gone to the gate to meet her sister. Security agents pushed her out of the gate and into a waiting jeep, which sped away.

The only official explanation so far is that Miss Li was taken in for questioning because she was illegally living in a compound reserved for foreigners.

She was clearly in violation of the ban on unauthorized entry into foreign compounds, and many observers here believe that one reason for the arrest was to discourage other Chinese from following her example by becoming too intimate with foreigners.